One in 68 children in the United States are currently diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder — yet, those with autism are continually disadvantaged when it comes to resources that many take for granted, such as education.
At a Penn Speaks for Autism event Monday night, Director of Disabilities Rights at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia Sonja Kerr spoke about the difficulties that people with autism and their families face.
Kerr has litigated cases in nine different states and is known for her staunch advocacy for those with disabilities.
“Children with autism CAN learn. Adults with autism can work,” Kerr said.
In her presentation, titled “Autism — Life and the Law,” Kerr highlighted a major problem that those with autism face: There is a misconception that they are intellectually impaired. In actuality, about half of those with ASD have an IQ at or above the average level of all Americans, Kerr said.
This false belief leads to many with autism being excluded from the resources that would afford them the best quality of life.
But, Kerr said, there is a great source of hope in the form of Applied Behavioral Analysis, which she described as a pivotal technique to help children with autism socialize and perform appropriately in a traditional school setting. ABA, which utilizes positive reinforcement and one-on-one services, facilitates the cognitive and social development of those with autism to help them achieve a level playing field with their peers. A major problem now is the legal battle over who should pay for ABA — the parents, the school district or private insurance.
Conflict has also arisen, especially in the Philadelphia School District, with ASD students being shuffled from school to school to conserve money and space, Kerr said. But parents were not notified beforehand of their child’s impending relocation.
Prior written notice, Kerr argued, is actually a constitutional right. In a case she argued recently, the court decided in favor of the parents in such a case, an important victory for autism advocates.
College senior and Co-President of Penn Speaks for Autism Carla Hernandez first became interested in the autism cause at the age of 15, when she worked at a camp for children with special needs. She said that her group recruited Kerr to speak in order to elucidate an alternative perspective in the discussion of autism.
"[Kerr] has a less scientific approach [than past speakers] and is more focused on the rights and education of people with autism,” Hernandez said.
